It is also the alma mater of Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Christy Mathewson who requested burial in a cemetery adjoining Bucknell's campus.

The team was ranked 24th in the nation in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today college basketball polls for the week of February 13.

The team was seeded ninth in the Oakland bracket for the 2006 NCAA tournament, and defeated Arkansas in the first round (59–55).

Bucknell made it to the 2007 Patriot League Championship Game where they faced Holy Cross.

In 2006 the Bucknell Men's soccer team went on a surprise run to capture the Patriot League championship.

The men's swimming and diving team also captured the Division II national championship in 1964.

Beginning in the 2006–2007 season, Bucknell has re-instituted its men's wrestling program in response to a private donation of $5.6 million from wrestling alumnus William Graham, after it was originally dropped by the university in efforts to be in compliance with Title IX in 2001.

Since the Patriot League does not sponsor wrestling, Bucknell's team competes as a member of the EIWA.

In 2008, the Bucknell baseball team entered the Tallahassee regional of the NCAA tournament and upset Florida State, 7–0.